GX: Stand Together
by The King in the N0rth
Summary: A heart of ice, an inept duelist, mindset of a gladiator, and some dude named Adam. When these four enter Duel Academy, they meet people with similar aspirations as theirs. With classes and friendships on their minds and an advancing darkness on the horizon, can they stand as one to support each other and protect the world? Many OCs. Pairings include: OC/OC, OC/Alexis. M for safety
1. Entrance Exams! Bright Futures Ahead!

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

()()—()()WILLIAM()()—()()

He reclined lazily in the comfortable armchair, his head nodding slightly as his eyes drooped. It was nine in the morning, and Will hadn't slept. His mind was working—always working; solving duel problems, revising his strategies and ultimately testing new combos.

This was the mind of William Reyes, a duelist with great aspirations.

A mane of shaggy black hair fell around him, reaching down to his shoulder blades and shading his face. Below his lowering eyelids the rims of grey irises peeked out, just barely visible; his skin was tan and the curtain of his hair darkened his face. His arms were rather thin but were corded with muscles, proving that there was some strength to the teen; his legs were rather long and as he sat they stretched out, crossing at the feet. His outfit consisted of a short-sleeved red t-shirt with _Smashing Pumpkins_ written across the front of the shirt, a pair of blue jeans and tricoloured Nike sneakers. A Duel Disk rested on his arm—it wasn't a fancy one, just one of the mass-produced ones created and sold by Kaibacorp; he'd had to pick one up during his stay, to prepare for his tests.

He sat in the lobby of the hotel as guests, bellhops, maids and others walked around, going about their business, watching them come and go listlessly as his eyes fluttered open now and again. Will noticed that there were a decent amount of people his age, too, many with Duel Disks on their arms as well. He surveyed many of them and allowed a calm smile to settle across his face; this year was going to be _fun_.

* * *

()()—()()ADAM()()—()()

At precisely ten minutes before ten in the morning, Adam Snow walked into the lobby of Kaibacorp's main building, where a line of duelists all with duel disks stood in front of a desk, stating out names to a bored-looking secretary. Taking his own place in the throng, behind a shaggy-haired boy in a Smashing Pumpkins t-shirt, he waited, and waited, and waited for what seemed like forever until he got to the front of the line… and it was then that he was able to see a clock, and realised it had only been a little less than six minutes.

Mentally, Adam sweatdropped and stated his name to the jaded secretary before him. She flipped open a binder and ran her eyes over a list, before telling him he could go on and giving him instructions on which room to go to.

"Down the hall, turn right, third door on the left," Adam repeated like a mantra. He followed the directions and turned where he should have, but when he opened the door, he found himself stepping into an… indoor garden?

"WELCOME TO THE RICE FIELDS, MOTHERFU—"

"Nope, definitely wrong door." Adam said, shutting the door quickly. He went to the next door… "Duh! That was the second door," he facepalmed.

As he entered the room he found himself in a lecture hall, possibly not what it was used for, but that is what it seemed to be. It was large with a high ceiling, and multiple tables were placed on raised platforms in a step formation. There were already many students who had taken their places.

He ran a tan hand through his short brown hair and moved quickly to a row of desks, third platform from the top and took a seat near the end; the row was mostly full, so there was really nowhere else he could go. He sat down—with permission, of course—next to the same boy with black hair and the Smashing Pumpkins t-shirt from the line. They had about fifteen minutes until the written exam started, so they made small talk for some time.

"My name's Adam," he introduced, holding his hand out to the boy.

The other boy examined the hand with pale grey eyes before shaking hands with a smile. "Will-I-am," he joked. "In other words, William. But call me Will," he said. Adam thought he detected a slight French accent.

Tilting his head slightly, Adam asked, "Where are you from? If you don't mind my asking."

"Quebec—that's in Canada," said Will. "How about you?"

"The great state of Vermont," Adam announced proudly, puffing his chest out. "Best maple syrup in the civilised world!"

"My ass," protested Will with a slight grin. "I _do_ believe that honour belongs to Canada."

"Canada ain't got crap on Vermont's syrup,"

"Maybe not, but we do have Nickelback," replied Will.

"Like that means anything!" Adam said with a small chuckle.

"How about Sum 41?"

"I concede."

"Damn right you do," said Will.

It was then that the written exams began. Tests were passed out to each student and they were given an hour to take them. Will and Adam worked diligently on their tests, the pair taking as much time as they could. Adam found that he had little trouble with it, having reviewed for several hours before the test (at the cost of quite a bit of sleep) and was able to finish it within the allotted time. Will, however... when Adam looked over at his new friend, he found that he was barely halfway finished. Nonetheless, Will was able to get it together and finish the test before time was up.

As the instructor, a rather short man with greying hair and a monocle, called time and went over to a door opposite the one they entered through opened it and told them to go through, Will looked over to Adam with a slight hint of nervousness in his pale eyes. "How do you think you did, eh?"

Adam shrugged a little, giving Will a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about it. As long as we didn't totally fuck up, we're good."

Will mouthed the words for a moment, before nodding and returning the smile. "Yeah. You're right. Not sure why I had that drop in confidence right there, but..." he grinned broadly. "Time to kick some ass!"

And with that, the pair ran down the steps into the dueling arena.

* * *

()()—()()VICTORIA()()—()()

Victoria Bolton was bored. This was nothing particularly new, as nearly nothing could excite her.

Nothing except the utter thrill of Duel Monsters.

She cared not for the written exam, crushing it with a superior intellect as if the test were mere childsplay. She threw a long curtain of silvery blonde hair back over her shoulder and walked down the steps with an apathetic look carved into her fair face, noting a pair of boys who seemed to be giving each other a pep talk before practically tearing off toward the duel arena. She smoothed her light blue blouse and black skirt as she stepped into the arena.

There were several duels already taking place, including one of the pep-talking boys from earlier, one with shaggy black hair. He seemed to be more than capable of holding his own against his assigned proctor, countering with traps and using the tag-team style of his Gladiator Beasts to enable powerful effects. As she watched, she found that he seemed to truly enjoy his duel and seemed to be making a show of it _. Just like a gladiator_ , Victoria mused mentally. However, the proctor was able to gain some ground with a well-timed 'Dimensional Prison' that caused the boy's 'Gladiator Beast Dimacari' to disappear into a rift in space.

"Here's some serious trouble for you!" said the shaggy-haired boy as Victoria took a seat in the stands. "I summon 'Rescue Rabbit' in Attack Mode!" he placed a card on his duel disk and his once-empty field was now home of a brown and white rabbit wearing goggles hopped into existence ( **Rescue Rabbit: EARTH, Level 4, Beast-type. 300 ATK/100 DEF** ).

"...Where's the trouble? Is it behind the rabbit?" the proctor snarked.

The sound of a grin crept into the boy's voice as he replied in a decent mimicry of a Scottish brogue, "No... it _is_ the rabbit."

The proctor scoffed. "You silly sod! You got me worked up for nothing!"

"It's true!" insisted the boy, "It's the most foul, cruel-tempered rodent in the land!"

"You tit," mocked the proctor.

The boy sniffed. "Perhaps I'll just need to exhibit his effects, eh? Very well—I banish my 'Rescue Rabbit' to Special Summon two 'Gladiator Beast Andal' from my Deck, and I'll chain it with 'Return from the Different Dimension!' I pay half my Life Points, and I can Summon all my banished monsters!"

Two monstrous one-eyed bears clad in armour appeared next to a purple ox and the three roared loudly. ( **Gladiator Beast Andal: EARTH, Level 4, Beast-Warrior-type. 1900 ATK/1500 DEF. Gladiator Beast Dimacari: EARTH, Level 4, Beast-type. 1600 ATK/1200 DEF.** )

 **Will: 750 LP / Proctor: 2000 LP**

"However, these three won't be sticking around for long. I'll combine all three of them for a Tag Fusion! Gladiators, unite!" The beasts gathered in a circle and clasped each others' paws ('Andal') and hooves ('Dimacari') and condensed into a bright light, returning into the boy's deck slot. "Come forth, 'Gladiator Beast Nerokius!' Your emperor requires your assistance!"

An enormous purple bat with leathery grey wings covered in purple armour appeared where the three once stood and let out a screech that forced Victoria to cover her ears. She couldn't help but smirk—the boy had certainly won, no matter what the proctor's facedowns may be; at least, judging by the 'oh shit' look on the proctor's face.

"JESUS CHRIST!" cried the proctor as the bat struck. 'Nerokius' flew quickly at the proctor and held out a clawed hand, slashing through the man in sunglasses. He dropped to a knee as the holograms faded.

Victoria wanted to stay and watch what happened next, but soon she heard her name called, and she proceeded to a dueling field on the far right end of the room. She frowned a little when she saw the unassuming little old man waiting there for her, dressed in a suit and glasses with a balding head. He smiled when she stepped toward him, and she saw the twinkle of mischief in his eyes. "You must be Victoria Bolton," said the man, "my name is Shimada Toru, and I will be your proctor today."

She bowed respectfully, recognising the man's accent. "Hai, Toru-san. Let us make this a good duel," she said, her spirits soaring as she powered on her Duel Disk.

Toru grinned at her. "Agreed. This will be fun," he said, powering on his own; it looked strange. It seemed to be built into a briefcase, but it was lumpy and oddly coloured.

 **Victoria: 4000 LP / Toru: 4000 LP**

"I shall start this out!" said Toru as they drew their hands. He drew a sixth card. "I will summon my 'Koa'ki Meiru Bergzak' in Attack Mode." A tall humanoid dressed in black and purple armour with a visored helmet wielding two swords appeared from a portal. ( **Koa'ki Meiru Bergzak: EARTH, Level 4, Warrior-type. 2000 ATK/200 DEF** )

"Koa'ki Meiru? I've never heard of those," said Victoria softly, examining the creature. She then continued in her thoughts, ' _However, a strong monster like that will surely have a weakness._ '

"After that, I will end my turn," said Toru. 'Bergzak' began to glow, and a faint sound like the shattering of glass could be heard. "Now 'Bergzak's' effect activates; I must either send one 'Iron Core of the Koa'ki Meiru' from my hand to the Graveyard, or reveal one Warrior-type monster in my hand. I choose to reveal," said Toru, picking a card from his hand, "'Breaker the Magical Warrior!'"

"Hold up there, chief," said Victoria, "that's a Spellcaster." The British teen frowned. Surely this had to be some sort of test; there was no way an official proctor would make a mistake like that.

"Good, it seems you know basic typing," said Toru, "and thus I will actually reveal my 'Command Knight' in order to keep 'Bergzak' on the field." The creature stopped glowing.

"Draw," declared Victoria with a flourish. "I activate 'Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen' and 'Court of Justice!' I'll start out by activating the effect of 'Valhalla,' which allows me to Special Summon one Fairy-type monster from my Hand, and I choose 'Tethys, Goddess of Light,' which I will soon-after Normal Summon my 'Freya, Spirit of Victory!'"

Beside Victoria, two portals opened and from the first one, a regal-looking angel dressed in a long white gown and a golden breastplate appeared, whilst from the other a black and blue dress-wearing girl with pom poms appeared, jumping and cheering. ( **Tethys, Goddess of Light: LIGHT, Level 5, Fairy-type. 2400 ATK/1800 DEF. Freya: LIGHT, Level 1, Fairy-type. 100 ATK/100 DEF.** ) "Now, with 'Court of Justice,' if I have a Level 1 Fairy on my field, I can Special Summon another Fairy from my hand, and I just so happen to have one: I Special Summon 'The Splendid Venus!'"

Between the two monsters, another, larger portal opened up and a large fairy dressed in a golden gown carrying a large scepter arose, and a bright light pulsated from the scepter. ( **The Splendid Venus: LIGHT, Level 8, Fairy-type. 2800 ATK/2400 DEF** )

"And now, because of the effect of 'Freya' and 'Venus' together, not only do all of my Fairies gain 400 ATK," said Victoria with triumph, "but all non-Fairies lose 500 ATK!"

( **Tethys: 2400 ATK + 400 = 2800 ATK. Freya: 100 ATK + 400 = 500 ATK. Venus: 2800 ATK + 400 = 3200 ATK. Bergzak: 2000 ATK - 500 = 1500 ATK.** )

"That means..." Toru said, eyes widening in realisation. He had to smile; the girl had outplayed him in but one turn.

"Yes. As soon as I defeat Bergzak, you have lost," said Victoria. "A pity. I was hoping you would do some damage to me. Fairies, attack!"

'Venus' twirled her scepter around and smashed it straight onto 'Bergzak' and caused it to dissipate into pixels, whilst 'Freya' threw her pom-poms and struck Toru with them; lastly, Tethys flew forward as fast as her wings could carry and drove a fist cloaked in light into Toru's stomach.

 **Victoria: 4000 LP / Toru: -1500 LP**

The students in the stands were in awe. An applicant had defeated the proctor not only on her first turn, but also without taking a scratch of damage. This was a feat that few, if any people, teacher or applicant, had seen. Stunned silence prevailed over the majority of students, although a few admittedly cheered at such a swift and overwhelming victory.

Victoria sighed to herself. ' _Disappointment. Certainly not the first, nor last time I've felt that,_ ' she thought, ' _though perhaps I'll be able to find someone to give me a run for my money at the school._ '

After a moment of standing open-mouthed, Toru finally shook his head and returned to the world, then he beckoned her forward and presented her with an Obelisk Blue jacket, which she took apathetically and returned to her seat.

* * *

()()—()()HIDE()()—()()

Nakamura Hideyoshi was shaking when his name was called to duel. He'd never dueled anyone with any real skill before, admittedly he'd only dueled his little brother; he hadn't any plans to even apply for Duel Academy, at least not until his father had told him to do so.

Hide's father was Nakamura Kenji, a high-up in Industrial Illusions, the company which manufactured Duel Monsters, and thus Kenji took it upon himself to send in his own son to be an example of the company's immersion in the dueling community.

Of course, Kenji had spent so little time with Hide growing up that he failed to realise that his son was totally inept as a duelist, being able to pull off only basic combos and deal minimal damage. But Kenji had an ace in the hole; he commissioned the creation of a brand new type of monster: the Pendulum monsters. Kenji spent days drilling Hide on how to use them until he thought that his son was ready.

So here Hide was, nervous as all hell as he stepped up to meet his proctor. He'd done decent on the written exam, at least he thought so, but he lacked confidence in his dueling skills.

Hide was very tall for a fifteen-year-old, nearly 6' 3" and thin like a young tree. His hair was short and black, and his skin was like any other native of Japan's. In his green eyes one could plainly see fear. He stepped out to meet his proctor, a short man with a mean look in his eyes. "Nakamura Hideyoshi, my name is Fujimoto Takeo and I will be your proctor. I personally do not feel in the mood for small talk, so let's begin this right away," said Takeo curtly, powering up his Duel Disk. Hide fumbled around for a moment before powering his own up. "I'll start out by summoning my 'Dark Blade' in Attack Mode!"

A knight clad in pure black armour with a curved steel sword appeared, a pair of red eyes visible inside his shadowed dark helm. ( **Dark Blade: DARK, Level 4, Warrior-type. 1800 ATK/1500 DEF** ) "I'll place a card face-down and end it there. Your move, kid," said Takeo gruffly.

"D-draw," said Hide in a trembling voice.

"Get some confidence kid! You'll never beat me if you sound like a mouse," growled Takeo.

"I'll activate my 'Sorcerous Spell Wall,'" Hide said, placing the card in the Field Spell zone; their part of the arena was surrounded in a circle of golden light as runes appeared on the floor. "When 'Sorcerous Spell Wall' is in effect, during my turn all my monsters gain 300 ATK, and in your turn they gain 300 DEF," he explained; "next I will activate 'Supply Squad' which will allow me to draw a card whenever one of my monsters is destroyed in battle." Hide looked at his hand for a moment before finally deciding, "I-I will place a monster face-down and end my turn."

"Hmph," Takeo grunted as he drew a card. "I summon 'Superconductor Warrior' in Attack Mode," he said, placing the card on his Duel Disk.

A large warrior in shimmering armour holding a staff with a magnet on the end appeared from a portal. ( **Superconductor Warrior: EARTH, Level 5, Warrior-type. 2100 ATK/2000 DEF** ) "When I have a Warrior on my field, I can Special Summon 'Superconductor Warrior' from my hand. Thanks to his effect, once per turn I can use his magnetic staff to flip one monster on the field face-up, and I'll choose your face-down!"

A small smirk crept across Hide's face as his monster appeared. It was a short old man with a grey beard wearing dark green robes wearing a turtle shell for a helmet. ( **Green Turtle Summoner: WATER, Level 3, Spellcaster-type. 400 ATK/1500 DEF** ) "Bad luck for you," said Hide, "when 'Green Turtle Summoner' is flipped face-up, I can destroy one monster on your field, and I choose 'Superconductor.'" The old man took off his helmet and threw it like a frisbee at the large knight, cutting through it like butter. "And because of 'Sorcerous Spell Wall,' he gains 300 DEF." ( **GTS: 1500 DEF + 300 = 1800 DEF** )

"Seems as if 'Dark Blade' can't destroy it," said Takeo stiffly, "so you're safe, for now. I'll summon 'Junk Blader' in Attack Mode and end it there." Beside 'Dark Blade,' a portal opened up and brought forth a purple-armoured knight with a patched cloak. ( **Junk Blader: EARTH, Level 4, Warrior-type. 1800 ATK/1000 DEF** )

Hide drew from his deck and in his mind ran through his options. "Yeah, this is nice," he muttered to himself. "I think I'll tribute 'Turtle Summoner' to summon my 'Ventdra, the Empowered Warrior,'" he said, his voice level. 'Green Turtle Summoner' shattered into several pieces that reformed in the appearance of a blue-armoured knight with golden shoulderpads and wings, with a blue tail protruding from its head. ( **Ventdra, the Empowered Warrior: WIND, Level 5, Warrior-type. 2000 ATK/800 DEF** ) "Because of 'Spell Wall' he gains 300 ATK, and he can also attack directly!"

Takeo frowned a little and muttered to himself. 'Ventdra' flapped its golden wings and flew forward, swinging its tail which caused a large wind gust to cut through the air at the proctor.

 **Hide: 4000 LP / Takeo: 1700 LP**

"Not bad, kid," said Takeo, "but I'll activate my trap card, 'Damage Equalizer!' Whenever I take damage, you take the same amount of damage!"

 **Hide: 1700 LP / Takeo : 1700 LP**

Hide frowned. "That's all I have for now."

Takeo drew a card and chuckled darkly. "Alright kid, I've let this go on long enough. I hadn't expected you to be able to damage me, but no matter." He placed a card in the Spell and Trap zone. "I activate 'Polymerization,' and fuse 'Dark Blade' and 'Pitch-Dark Dragon.'" 'Dark Blade' was swept up into a swirling, multicoloured vortex along with a card from Takeo's hand, which was revealed to be a large black dragon as it flew into the abyss. A bright light flashed as the vortex disappeared, and down descended 'Dark Blade the Dragon Knight,' which was literally just 'Dark Blade' atop 'Pitch-Dark Dragon.' ( **Dark Blade the Dragon Knight: DARK, Level 6, Warrior-type. 2200 ATK/1500 DEF** ) "And along with it, I'm activating 'Axe of Despair!' I equip it to 'Dark Blade' and he gains 1000 ATK!" The knight's sword was replaced with a wicked-looking axe. ( **Dark Blade: 2200 ATK + 1000 = 3200 ATK** )

The dragon flapped its wings and sat back on its haunches, waiting for its master's command. "'Dark Blade,' attack 'Ventdra!'" The dragon lurched forward at a high speed and the knight swung its axe swiftly, cutting through the 'Empowered Warrior.'

Hide frowned. "Damn... I don't even have any Normal Monsters to activate his effect..." he said softly. "But because of 'Supply Squad' I can draw a card."

"And let's not forget the Life Point damage," Takeo smirked. "After that, my turn's over."

 **Hide: 1500 LP / Takeo: 1700 LP**

Hide drew a card and thought for a moment. ' _Not now..._ ' he decided. "I'll set a monster face-down and another card face-down and end my turn."

"Hmm, giving up already kid? Shame, all those fancy monsters in your deck, I was expecting great things," said Takeo, and noting the surprised look on Hide's face, he chuckled. "Yeah, I know about them. Mr. Kaiba himself asked for me to go up against them, see if they're really all that Pegasus has been hyping about." He drew a card. "I'll activate 'Fairy Meteor Crush' and add it onto 'Dark Blade.' Now he inflicts piercing damage, should your monster's DEF be lower than his ATK. And so, 'Dark Blade,' attack!"

The dragon went into motion once more, the knight holding his axe aloft. A split second later, Hide called out loudly, "Not quite! I activate 'Shadow Spell!' Now 'Dark Blade cannot attack or change position, and he loses 700 ATK!" Dark chains shot out and wrapped around both knight and mount, immobilising them where they were. Both struggled against the chains but could not break them.

Takeo grinned slightly. "Maybe you're not as bad as I thought, kid. I place one face-down and end my turn."

Hide frowned slightly. ' _It's now or never. 'Shadow Spell' can only last for so long... he's bound to have something that can counter it, it's only a matter of time_ ,' he thought, taking a deep breath and steeling himself. "I activate my Spell, 'Pot of Greed!' It allows me to draw two cards," he did so, "and next I activate my Pendulum Monsters: 'Timegazer Magician' and 'Stargazer Magician!'"

Takeo grinned wider. "I was hoping I'd get to see them," he said.

A black cloaked wizard with a black hood and a golden device almost like a Duel Disk appeared alongside a wizard cloaked in varying shades of blue holding a staff, and both took their places alongside Hide. ( **Timegazer Magician: DARK, Level 3, Spellcaster-type. 1200 ATK/600 DEF. Stargazer Magician: DARK, Level 5, Spellcaster-type. 1200 ATK/2400 DEF.** ) "Now I'll use this revolutionary new Pendulum Summon!" he yelled, his confidence rising. "I can Special Summon as many monsters as possible from my hand between Levels 1 and 8; and since I have no monsters, seeing as Pendulum Monsters have their own zone, I can summon up to five monsters!"

A large portal opened up before Hide. Four bright forms appeared out of it: one a light blue dragon with a golden underbelly and a sparking tail, another a large golden dragon, the next a dragon made of pure sapphire, and the last a muscular man in grey armour with a hulking sword near as large as himself.

( **Wattail Dragon: LIGHT, Level 6, Dragon-type. 2500 ATK/1000 DEF. Aether, the Empowering Dragon: LIGHT, Level 6, Dragon-type. 2300 ATK/1600 DEF. Luster Dragon: WIND, Level 4, Dragon-type. 1900 ATK/1600 DEF. Warrior Dai Grepher: EARTH, Level 4, Warrior-type. 1700 ATK/1600 DEF.** )

"And because of 'Sorcerous Spell Wall...'"

"I know, I know," said Takeo, "get on with it."

( **Wattail: 2500 ATK + 300 = 2800 ATK. Aether: 2300 ATK + 300 = 2600 ATK. Luster: 1900 ATK + 300 = 2200 ATK. Grepher: 1700 ATK + 300 = 2000 ATK.** )

"Now, all of them will attack you at once!" said Hide triumphantly, grinning. The monsters all prepared their own attacks, and a cloud of smoke was kicked up.

 **Hide: 0 LP / Takeo: 1700 LP**

"What...?!" said Hide in shock. "How...?" When the smoke cleared, he saw a set of rune-engraved cylinders. "...That must have been the card you set."

"Yes, it was," said Takeo as the holograms faded. He strolled over to Hide and extended his hand. "That was a great duel, Hideyoshi. If I hadn't had 'Magic Cylinder' set, you would've overpowered me quite easily. It was merely chance that I drew it when I did. Do you realise just how much damage you would have done? 5400 Life Points, kid. If I hadn't had 'Dark Blade' it would have been nearly 8000." he smiled, and Hide returned it and shook his hand. "Now, technically, since you lost you shouldn't be admitted. But I think that Mr. Kaiba will forgive me this once; it's obvious that you are still learning the ropes of the deck and the summoning mechanic, but I can tell that once you master it you will be an incredible duelist. So as such, I shall admit you, but as a Slifer Red." He handed Hide a red jacket. "Congratulations."

"Thank you," said Hide, pride welling up in his chest as he slipped the blazer on. It fit perfectly, and Hide had a spring in his step the whole time as he walked back up to his seat.

* * *

()()—()()WILL()()—()()

Will sat back in the bleachers with Adam, the both of them grinning. He and his new friend had both won their duels, Adam taking out the proctor within the first few turns thanks to his 'Blaze Fenix' monster, which caused immense amounts of burn damage.

Adam had done well enough to earn his spot in Ra Yellow, having aced the written exam and then destroying his proctor quickly.

Will, however, was not quite as lucky. His dueling skills were first-rate, however he missed one too many answers on the written exam (literally only one too many, he was just under the line) for Ra Yellow, so he had to be placed in Slifer Red.

Despite this, the two weren't going to let their new friendship fall apart because they were in separate dorms; they were still first-years, and as such would have many of the same classes together. "How do you like those Pendulum monsters?" he asked Adam, admittedly surprised at the sheer power that could be put behind the new mechanic.

"Trouble," said Adam with a slight grin. "If you're up against them, unless you've got a lucky card like the proctor, you're basically fucked." He thought for a moment. "I do wonder though, would 'Bottomless Trap Hole' take them all out? Or would we need something like 'Mirror Force?'"

"That's a good question," said Will, his eyes wandering. Looking down the rows of bleachers he saw a girl with silvery blonde hair sitting alone. She had an Obelisk Blue jacket on. "Who's that...?" he believed that he said it mentally, but he realised upon Adam's response that he said it aloud.

"Some British girl, Victoria something," Adam said. "Her duel took place while you were in the bathroom. She owned the proctor in her first turn."

"Damn," Will replied.

The exams ended at precisely 3 in the afternoon on a high note when everyone watched a duelist who had arrived late to the exams and whipped the hell out of a teacher. Adam and Will parted but met up later and had ramen. Victoria returned to her hotel and ordered room service and watched "Gladiator."

And Hide, well... Hide slept.

* * *

The next day the applicants who had passed headed to the Kaibacorp building once more, and from there they boarded a plane and flew to the Academy. Adam and Will found each other quickly and sat beside each other on the plane ride, talking about home and passing jokes back and forth with a bag of Doritos. Victoria sat on a window seat near the back of the plane, listening to music on her iPhone. And Hide slept some more.

Then finally... finally they touched down. Adam saw it coming from the window seat, and knots of excitement were building in his stomach as he saw the pearly white dome of the main Academy building peaking out of the lush forest. On the coast of the island was a lighthouse and a small dorm that looked more like a cheap motel with a red roof, and on the southern coast he could see a nice-sized dorm that looked, to him at least, like a lodge, with yellow walls. Beside it was a large dorm that was like a palace, with spires and battlements and towers. On the northern edge of the island was a volcano.

"Holy shit," said Adam, "this place looks awesome."

Looking over the Vermont boy's shoulder, Will stared out breathlessly. "How right you are, my brother in maple syrupry," he said.

As the plane touched down on a landing strip by the coast, the students picked up their luggage and headed to the centre building. Adam and Will walked together, with Hide coming up behind them and joining in the conversation. Victoria still walked alone, and Will noticed that.

He tried to approach her, once, but he got real nervous as soon as her eyes turned toward him. Blue eyes met grey, and Will shrunk back, for all his love of Gladiators he simply could not muster any courage. He fell back to where Adam and Hide were, and was faced with teasing on the side of Adam; soon as they went into the building and into the grand auditorium, Will, Adam and Hide were joined by the boy who slammed the teacher in the exams, whose name they found out to be Jaden Yuki, and a short boy with light blue hair and glasses who had taken to following the teacher-schooler around, by the name of Syrus Truesdale.

In the auditorium, everyone was packed tightly; there seemed to have been a lot of students, not just new students but returning ones as well. The amount of people packed into the room made the temperature soar significantly, and many were pressed up against each other.

Including Will and Victoria. Located to the outside of his group, Will was in between Adam and Victoria, trying to push toward Adam but unable to budge him, and tried to give the Obelisk girl more room. His face was red as he tried to keep his eyes set on Chancellor Sheppard, a balding man with a kind face and warm smile.

The Chancellor told the students that due to an increased number of students accepted into the Academy this year, several students would have to take roommates. A few of the older students groaned but the younger ones seemed indifferent. "You will each be given a slip with the name of your roommate on them," explained Sheppard, "and... that's really it. Classes start tomorrow, get lots of sleep, and have fun!"

Several students face-faulted at the utter casualness that the Chancellor said that with. The students all departed and went to their respective dorms. Adam found it a lonely walk to the Ra Yellow dorm without Will, but found an enjoyable friend in the very smart Bastion Misawa. Victoria made brief conversation on the way to the Obelisk Blue Girls' Dorm with another Obelisk girl, Alexis Rhodes and her friends Jasmine and Mindy. It was better than nothing, she decided; she knew she would just have to duel Alexis later, if Jasmine and Mindy's praises were anything.

Will, Hide, Jaden and Syrus had an enjoyable trip to the Slifer Red dorm, where it turned out that Hide and Will were to room together; "I CALL TOP BUNK!" Will yelled immediately as he climbed like a monkey to the top.

At night a peace settled over the island as the students all got used to their new residence. Several of the students dueled that night, but one thing was for sure: never had the island seen an eating contest quite like the one that took place between Jaden and Will. When Professor Banner brought out the rice, the two dug in hungrily and ate, together, over 30 bowls. One thing is for sure:

Jaden and Will slept excellent that night.

* * *

 **And there you have it everyone, my new GX story with multiple character inserts. Hopefully this was entertaining for you all, and as an introductory character for several characters I hope you all got a good feel for who the characters are. Obviously there were some exaggerated parts (ahem, the 30 bowls of rice that Jaden and Will ate together) and some lame jokes (the** _ **Monty Python**_ **reference during Will's duel). Now we didn't really get to see too much dueling from Will or Adam, and as for Victoria it simply needed to be made clear that she's a very powerful duelist. Hide lacks confidence in himself, but once he started to gain some he overlooked risks and made an immense mistake that costed him the duel.**

 **Now there are some parts I left out, like Jaden's duel against Crowler, for the obvious reason that we've seen it all before and there's really nothing that could be done new without adding in a completely new character. Anyways I don't really have too much energy to write much else so we'll call that the end. See you in the next update.**

 **As always, take care, brush yo' hair, and I'll see ya when I see ya... ~PEACE~**

 **~Chase**


	2. The First Day! Gladiator versus Phoenix!

**Disclaimer: Me don't own nothing**

* * *

()()—()()HIDE()()—()()

Nakamura Hideyoshi slept peacefully in a cocoon of blankets. He had practically fallen asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow the last night before after cheering on his roommate Will in an eating contest against another dorm-mate, Jaden Yuki. He snored softly as he dreamed.

"Oi… Hide…" Hide heard the voice on the very edge of consciousness, still asleep but able to hear the grumbling. "Hide…! Get your ass up, Hide. It's time for school!" He felt a sharp blow on his shoulder and he jolted awake. "C'mon Hide, wake up. It's the first day I don't want to be fucking late."

"Ugh… _itsudesuka?_ " asked Hide as he sat up in his bunk.

"7:30. Now get your ass in gear," said Will, tossing him his blazer and a Poptart. "Classes start at 8, and if we run we might be able to make it on time."

Hide swung his legs over the bed and stood up, slipping on some pants and a t-shirt, putting on his Slifer Red blazer. He rubbed his eyes and opened the Poptart, taking a bite and walking out quickly after Will.

He noticed that Will had a rather large cord poking out of his backpack, but said nothing about it. The two ran toward the main Academy building, passing a group of other Reds and a few Yellows, Adam being included in that group, though soon after he hurried to catch up. "Hide! Will!"

"Yo yo, brother!" said Will casually as they finally reached the main steps, and he stood there looking more or less unfazed. "Glad I kept up the morning runs," he muttered. Hide had practically collapsed when they reached the steps, gasping for breath. "Hide! Time!"

Hide looked at his phone. "S-seven forty-five!" he said. "It took f-fifteen minutes!" he gasped.

"Haha, great…" said Will. "Next time let's try for fourteen…"

"I'm going to k-kick your ass," said Hide.

Adam finally caught up to the two, huffing and puffing. "What was that all about?" he asked between breaths.

"Hide didn't wake up until 7:30," Will said, "had to get him motivated… what better way with a run…?"

"You're f-freaking dead Will…"

"Grow a pair, Hide," teased Will. "This is just a warm up for me. I can't imagine what it'll be like for you when we start running out of the girls' dorm after a panty raid."

This brought Hide's spirits back up. "You mean a night of debauchery?" he asked as if he hadn't even been worn out.

"Debauchery!" echoed Adam.

"DEBAUCHERY!" Will confirmed with a broad grin.

* * *

The first class of the day was a lecture with the effeminate professor who had gotten his ass kicked by Will and Hide's neighbour, Jaden. Said professor was harassing Syrus over what a Field Spell was and what it did, and surprisingly enough the blue-haired boy couldn't manage to get the words out, causing the professor to become upset.

In fact, he was going up to scold Syrus when he tripped over a long cord that apparently ran from that row up to somewhere in the Ra Yellow section. Doctor Crowler was looking around for what the cord was attached to when suddenly Will yelled out, "Fuck you Adam! We agreed no Outrage!"

"I lied bitch!" Adam laughed back, neither of the two realising they had spoken aloud. When they finally did and saw that everyone was staring at them, the two said as one, "Oh shit."

The two had unwittingly incurred the wrath of Doctor Crowler; "I WILL NOT HAVE MY CLASS DISRUPTED BY A SLIFER SLACKER AND A RA!" he practically screeched. "Both of you! OUT! I will speak with you both after class!"

The Slifer and Ra pair saw themselves out of the room, causing a bit of a scene when the two revealed that they were playing Pokémon on their Gameboy Advances. They had to unhook the surprisingly long cable that linked the two devices and met in the middle to wrap it up.

"Now put that part here," said Will.

"No, that goes here," insisted Adam.

"And that is—"

"Here!"

Everyone just sat there in silence, staring at the two; all students but Will, Adam, Hide, Jaden and Victoria had a sweat drop coming from them. Finally Crowler shouted at them once more before they finally bolted from the room.

* * *

()()—()()WILL()()—()()

"This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't used Outrage!" said Will as the pair sat outside the Academy's Card Shop, each eating a sandwich (not one of the randomly-picked sandwiches, mind you).

"No, it wouldn't have happened if you had thought to check Dragonite's moveset," Adam corrected. "Always be careful—I'm a sneaky bastard."

"A smelly bastard is what you are," Will muttered, unfastening his Duel Disk and setting it in his lap. He finished the last bit of his sandwich then crumpled the wrappings up and tossed it into a nearby trash can. "Either way, we're in big trouble."

Adam raised his arm and sniffed his armpit. "Hey, I don't smell that bad… although I guess that's not the point," he added, noting the serious look on Will's face. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't think that you'd start swearing when I used Outrage."

Will chuckled a little. "I wouldn't have, if I hadn't been about to slay your ass."

"Bullshit," scoffed Adam. "I still had two more Pokémon."

"Two? Not bad, but might I remind you that I was sitting pretty at _four_ ," said Will, "but none of them could have taken an Outrage. If you hadn't used it, you would've lost because Glalie would have kicked Dragonite's scaly orange ass and then whatever you had left… what _did_ you have left?"

Adam cracked a grin. "Arcanine and a Scizor," he said.

Will paled a bit. "Well, I probably could have taken Scizor out with Ninetails…"

"…If it didn't have a shit move pool," Adam said, grinning.

"True, true," said Will, pulling his deck out of his Duel Disk, then putting it back in, and repeating the process several times. He sighed a little. "Still though… first day and we're already getting our asses chewed out."

Adam shrugged. "What can ya do? What's done is done…" he yawned. "Hey, you wanna duel? To pass the time, I mean. After all, Crowler's lecture doesn't end for another hour."

" _Carpe diem,_ bro," Will said, a slight grin cracking across his face. For all his worries, Will loved to duel; it was like an escape for him. As soon as the offer came up, his fears of Crowler melted away as he slid his deck back into his Duel Disk. "Let's get it on!"

"That's the spirit!" Adam said, jumping up. The two ran down the hall a ways, into an empty dueling field. The room was rather large, probably used for important duels; rows of bleachers rose up on either side of the raised platform, much like a stadium. There were four entrances on each of the cardinal directions; from the platform in the centre of the room, circuits ran, probably to sense what was going on, control the lighting or something like that—Will didn't know, nor did he particularly care.

The two friends stood on opposite ends of the dueling field as they powered up their Duel Disks. "Babies first," teased Adam, noting the fact that his friend had gotten so upset about their Pokémon battle.

"Shut it," said Will, "but I'll take it. I draw!" he said, drawing a card with a flourish, like how a gladiator would draw his sword. "I shall summon my 'Gladiator Beast Darius' in attack mode!"

A bipedal black horse dressed in light armour consisting of a red plated kilt and chestplate with a flowing black mane appeared, wielding a long metallic whip. ( **Gladiator Beast Darius: EARTH, Level 4, Beast-type. 1700 ATK/300 DEF** ) The horse raised its head haughtily and snorted, before turning to look at Will and giving him the closest thing to a grin that a horse can give.

"I'll set a facedown and end my turn," Will said, pounding his chest; the horse mimicked his motion.

"So that's how you're gonna be, Will? Well then—I'll summon my 'Flame Tiger!'" Adam countered, slapping a card onto his Duel Disk.

Before him a huge fire sprouted up like a crimson flower, before settling a bit; from the flames, the form of a tiger appeared, markings and all. A fiery red aura exuded from its bristling orange fur as it opened its fanged maw and roared loudly, belching out a fireball with it. ( **Flame Tiger: FIRE, Level 4, Beast-type. 1800 ATK/0 DEF** )

"I'm assuming you'll be attacking?" said Will in a lazy drawl. "Go ahead, I welcome it." The horse gripped his whip in anticipation.

"Expecting it, are we? That's no fun," complained Adam. "Oh well, you heard him, 'Tiger!'"

The tiger let out a loud, angry roar as it lunged toward the 'Gladiator Beast,' cloaking itself in fire as it ran. Will's lips quirked upward. "Too predictable, Adam; I watched you do the same damn thing in the exams," he said, holding out his hand in a 'halt!' manner. "Thus—I use my trap! 'Prideful Roar!'" Will's facedown card flipped up and a crimson energy surged from it, wrapping itself around 'Darius' in a burst of ethereal energy. "I pay Life Points equal to the difference between our monsters' Attack Points, and 'Darius' gains that much plus three hundred!"

 **Will: 3900 LP / Adam: 4000 LP**

'Darius' seemed to grow bigger inside the cloak as he gripped his whip and neighed angrily. ( **Darius: 1700 ATK + 400 = 2100 ATK** ) He dodged the tiger's attack and swung his whip, which wrapped around the other beast's neck. A pulse of electricity shot through the weapon, causing the tiger to let out a cry as it disintegrated.

 **Will: 3900 LP / Adam: 3700 LP**

Adam frowned slightly. "So that's what you were planning," he said. "Since I summoned already, I'll just end it there."

"Not quite," said Will, "I'll be using 'Darius's' effect! Tag-out!" he barks out, and 'Darius' snapped to attention, holstering his whip. The horse glowed brightly before transforming into pure energy and returning to Will's deck slot, "'Gladiator Beast Laquari,' prepare for battle!" he commanded.

A ring of fire blazed into existence, and onto Will's side of the field, a tiger of his own jumped through the hoop. It was bipedal with bright orange fur and black markings, with red armour. It was very muscular and had a mane of red hair running down its back. ( **Gladiator Beast Laquari: FIRE, Level 4, Beast-Warrior-type. 1800 ATK/400 DEF** )

"And because of his effect, when 'Laquari' gets tagged-in by another 'Gladiator Beast,' his attack is increased to 2100!" Will exclaimed. ( **Laquari: 1800 ATK + 300 = 2100** )

"Fuck," said Adam, cursing his bad hand. "I can only hope you don't get a monster with too much ATK…"

Will drew a card and smirked. "Luck's on your side, Adam. No 'Andal' here," he said. "So instead, 'Gladiator Beast Dimacari,' come forth to battle!"

A large purple ox clad in armour appeared from a portal, a silver spiked gauntlet on its fists. It snorted gruffly. ( **Gladiator Beast Dimacari: EARTH, Level 4, Beast-type. 1600 ATK/1200 DEF** )

Will grinned at Adam. "Now—there are two things I can do. I _could_ attack you with the two simultaneously and defeat you in one turn," he said. Adam swore he could see the gleam of a warrior in his eyes. "But that would hardly make for a good show, no, not at all. My other option, it seems, is to give one of my other gladiators a bit of time in the arena through the tag-fusion, and _that_ is what I believe I shall do!"

He held his Duel Disk-clad arm high, as if he were wielding a sword of great power. "I call upon the two gladiators—'Laquari' and 'Dimacari!' You two have fought well, but it is time for the main event!"

 _ **[Cue in the opening of the 'Pacific Rim' theme song]**_

'Dimacari' and 'Laquari' grasped hands and began to glow, the two also returning into Will's deck. "Come on out, 'Gladiator Beast Essedarii!' Your emperor has need of you!" he called. From his deck, a glowing form leapt out and materialised.

A golden chariot was the first thing to appear, with large black spiked wheels. Next came what sat _in_ the chariot; a giant black-furred ape wielding a huge spiked club and a golden shield. ( **Gladiator Beast Essedarii: EARTH, Level 5, Beast-type. 2500 ATK/1400 DEF** ) He pounded his shield-clad arm against his chest and growled loudly.

"'Essedarii,' attack him directly!"

The ape's chariot wheeled into action, flying at high speed and slamming his club into Adam.

 **Will: 3900 LP / Adam: 1200 LP**

Adam dropped to one knee and grimaced a little. "…You couldn't have just hit me with the other two?"

"I _could've_ ," Will mused, "but I really, really didn't want to."

* * *

()()—()()VICTORIA()()—()()

Not for the first time since arriving at the Academy, Victoria Bolton was bored. After kicking out that Slifer-Ra pair, Crowler had been on edge and droning, and several students were sleeping.

She was sitting by the three girls she met on her way to the dorm last night—Alexis, Mindy and Jasmine. The latter two had taken to conversing amongst themselves about boys and such, whilst Alexis, like Victoria, seemed to be at least trying to pay attention. The class had gotten much less exciting after those two had been kicked out, that much was obvious.

After Crowler finished ranting at the Truesdale kid for a second time, this time about not being able to explain a Continuous Trap, the room went completely silent and Victoria thought she heard the sounds of a duel: monster cries, shattering, blasts and such. Looking around furtively, noting that Crowler was not speaking, Victoria raised her hand on a whim.

The effeminate professor turned his blue eyes toward the Obelisk Blue girl and a smile briefly flashed across his face as he breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes, Ms. Bolton," he said courteously.

"I'm terribly sorry Doctor Crowler," she said politely, "but may I use the restroom?"

Crowler studied her for a moment before sighing finally, "Very well. The lecture is mostly over; go on," he said.

"Thank you," Victoria said, standing up and, flattening herself against the row of desks behind her, shuffling out of her row. She walked up the stairs and out into the hall, her interest rising as she heard the sounds of a duel getting clearer.

Then she came to the arena that was in use. A small smile curled at her lips when she saw the combatants: the two that had been kicked out of Crowler's class earlier. She leaned in the doorway, just out of sight, but still able to see the battle.

It wasn't going well for the Ra student, it seemed; his field was entirely empty whilst the Slifer student had a 2500 ATK powerhouse on his field. Victoria allowed a soft bark of laughter at this—one did not simply get put in Red without a reason, and it was clear that dueling was not his problem.

Victoria watched the Ra boy's next move with clear interest. He seemed to be rather cautious, noting that the Red boy had two cards in his back row.

"Well, Will," said the Ra boy; Victoria noted that this was the first time she had heard the boy's name—officially, that is. "You seem to have driven me up a wall."

"Oh, yes, quite," said Will, grinning. "Not everyone is cut out to fight in the Coliseum."

The Ra boy started chuckling. "Perhaps not; I doubt my way of fighting would be enjoyed," he said. "I activate 'Polymerization!' I fuse my 'UFO Turtle' and 'Volcanic Counter' from my hand to summon 'Blaze Fenix, the Burning Bombardment Bird!'"

Will frowned. "That's not good," Victoria heard him say. He straightened himself up and took on a confident expression. "No matter—gladiators do not surrender unless their emperor tells them to! And I'm not gonna!"

"Your funeral," said the Ra boy, "after all, Rome got burned down. So can you!"

A bird of pure fire rose up from a pile of ashes, its wings covered in dark metal armour. It let out a mighty screech. ( **Blaze Fenix, the Burning Bombardment Bird: FIRE, Level 8, Pyro-type. 2800 ATK/2300 DEF** ) "Next I'll set two cards face-down, and then summon my 'Flamvell Firedog' in Attack Mode!"

Next to the bird, a pile of rock and lava fell down and coalesced to form a large fiery dog with two wing-like protrusions on its back. ( **Flamvell Firedog: FIRE, Level 4, Beast-type. 1900 ATK/200 DEF** ) The Ra boy grinned. "Now, there are two things I could do…"

"Don't start that shit, Adam," said Will. "Only I can start that shit."

Adam looked down in mock-despair and said, "Okay." But then his grin returned as he finished his previous thought process. "Anyway, I'll choose the latter of what I was _going_ to say before I was so rudely interrupted. I'm going to attack your 'Essedarii' with 'Fenix,' and then I'll attack directly with 'Firedog!'"

The fiery bird swept its wings back and rained comets of fire down on the gorilla in the chariot, and though the latter attempted to block with its large golden shield, the comets got larger and faster, finally piercing through the shield and slaying the ape. It shattered into pixels.

 **Will: 3600 LP / Adam: 1200 LP**

Will grimaced, but held out his hand as he called, "Halt! I activate 'Dimensional Prison' and remove your 'Firedog' from play!" The lava dog charged at Will, but a rift in space was torn and it lunged right into it, disappearing.

Victoria and Adam both frowned. "Why not do that and save your 'Essedarii?'" Adam asked, tilting his head.

"For the exact reason I told you before…" Will said cryptically, breaking into a grin. "It wouldn't make for a good show."

A look of dawning realisation and respect crossed Victoria's face. ' _He's toying with him,_ ' she thought. ' _He's not trying to win… he's fighting like a gladiator. Makes sense, considering his deck._ ' Victoria suddenly wondered what it would be like to fight him if he were actually trying.

She recalled seeing the last bit of his practical exam against the proctor, remembering how he had swiftly and mercilessly won. His monsters were powerful alone, for sure, but with cards like 'Rescue Rabbit' thrown in, it was easy to break out the fusions quickly. She shuddered with anticipation; she would have to duel him someday, someday soon if she could.

Adam sighed. "Should have known that," he said. "Since I have no more cards in my hand, I'll end my turn here."

Will drew his card with a renewed vigour. "Perfect! I activate 'Gladiator Beast's Respite!' I return two 'Gladiator Beast' monsters from my Hand to my deck, and I can draw three cards. I'll choose my 'Samnite' and 'Murmillo.'" He shuffled the cards into his deck and drew three new ones.

Victoria could practically hear the cheers of Coliseum spectators and see the armour and _gladius_ at Will's side when he grinned. It was vicious, confident; he was out for blood now.

"I summon 'Rescue Rabbit!'"

"God damn it!" Adam yelled.

The same white rabbit in goggles hopped onto the field, taking its place beside the fierce looking 'Essedarii.' ( **Rescue Rabbit: EARTH, Level 4, Beast-type. 300 ATK/100 DEF** ) "Say it, Adam," commanded Will.

"I'm not gonna say it."

" _Say it_ ," he teased.

Adam sighed. "Where's the trouble? Is it behind the rabbit?" he said without passion or any sort of emotion.

"No—it _is_ the rabbit! I use his effect to summon two 'Gladiator Beast Andal' from my deck by sacrificing him," Will said. The rabbit glowed brightly and disappeared, and where it once was there were now two one-eyed bears clad in blue armour.( **Gladiator Beast Andal: EARTH, Level 4, Beast-Warrior-type. 1900 ATK/1500 DEF** ) "Next I'll use the effect of my 'Test Tiger.' If I have a 'Gladiator Beast' on my side of the field, I can Special Summon this little dude." A small tiger jumped out onto the field in a low crouch. ( **Test Tiger: EARTH, Level 3, Beast-type. 600 ATK/300 DEF** )

"Damn," said Victoria, thoroughly impressed. He'd pulled off an amazing combo.

"I'll use 'Test Tiger's' effect: I tribute him, and I can return one of my 'Andal' to my deck to Special Summon a new 'Gladiator Beast,' and I shall choose 'Laquari!'" The same armoured tiger appeared through his ring of fire, vaulting forth with a fierce expression as his fangs were bared.

Will gave Adam a sadistic grin. "This, my friend, is the end," he declared. "I shall tag the three of these in; 'Laquari,' 'Andal,' and 'Essedarii.'" The three of them grasped hands once more, with the monstrous 'Andal' in the middle; they collapsed into bright energy, separating and flying like arrows of light into his deck. "To replace them I choose the mighty 'Gladiator Beast Heraklinos!'"

A massive chimera with a mane of red hair leapt onto the field with amazing agility, clad in a light blue cuirass with red shoulders and a red kilt, bearing a giant battle axe and a shield that bore a distinct similarity to honeycombs with two mounted cannons on either side of the top. It towered over Will and Adam, almost halfway to the top of the building. It looked to Will, and Victoria could swear she saw it smile at him before it turned and roared loudly at Adam. ( **Gladiator Beast Heraklinos: FIRE, Level 8, Beast-Warrior-type. 3000 ATK/2800 DEF** )

The black-haired boy raised his fist and barked out something in Latin. Victoria thought she heard the word, " _Heracles_." The beast looked over to his master, and Will turned his thumb down. 'Heraklinos' roared loudly, charging the burning bird.

"Not so fast—I activate 'Mirror Force!'" exclaimed Adam.

Will wagged his finger like a parent reprimanding a child. "No, no, no," Will chided, "you don't really know much about these monsters at all, do you? 'Heraklinos' has an effect that allows me to discard a card from my Hand to negate the activation of a Spell or Trap card… lucky me, I happen to have one last card in my hand." Will moved that card into his Graveyard slot, and 'Heraklinos' swung his great axe and slew 'Fenix,' slicing directly through the bird in a gash of flames. It exploded in a ball of fire, which 'Heraklinos' blocked with his mighty shield.

 **Will: 3600 LP / Adam: 1000 LP**

"If that's it…" Adam began.

"Which it is," Will responded.

"I'll make my move. I draw," Adam said, squeezing his eyes shut and focusing as he did so. "I summon my 'Volcanic Shell' in Attack Mode!" A small, metal creature that looked rather like a bug appeared on Adam's side of the field, flexing two scrawny arms. ( **Volcanic Shell: FIRE, Level 1, Pyro-type. 100 ATK/0 DEF** ) "And I'll use that last card of mine, 'Creature Swap!' You know what I'm doing," he claimed.

Will nodded. "Yeah, I do," he said. "That's why I'm not going to discard a card."

"Well, that and you don't have a card to discard…"

"Shut up and take control," Will said. 'Heraklinos' went over to Adam's side of the field and practically kicked 'Shell' over toward Will.

"'Heraklinos,' attack 'Volcanic Shell!'" Adam yelled, and the chimera complied, charging with his axe.

It was then that Victoria noted Will's grin. Of course he had a contingency plan. "Before that," Will called out. "'Heraklinos,' my dear friend, I apologise for this, but I must activate 'Ring of Destruction!'"

A ring of red bombs latched around the charging beast's neck, stopping it in its traps. "Damn it Will!" said Adam. "Is this payback for Outrage?"

"Not quite," said Will, his grin growing fierce.

The necklace exploded, consuming 'Heraklinos' in a fiery cloud of dust and smoke. Jets of fire shot out from the cloud and struck both of the duelists, forcing them to one knee.

 **Will: 600 LP / Adam: -2600 LP**

Will was the first to raise his head, looking up and grinning at Adam. He pushed himself up with a little effort and helped his friend up. Will clapped his friend on the back and pulled him into a hug, both of them grinning. "Well done, bro!" Adam said.

"You too my friend," Will replied, keeping his tone even. "It's a good thing you used 'Creature Swap' when you did; if I had attacked you directly the next turn, your 'Volcanic Counter' would have made it almost this exact result." He grinned. "It's easy to see that your deck is rather hard to pull off."

"It is hard," Adam agreed, "but when I get it going it's near unstoppable."

Victoria emerged from her little corridor, clapping. "That was impressive," she said in her usual impassive tone. "Both of you."

"Thanks," Adam said, taking the compliment for what it was worth.

Will was a little red-faced, but he decided to push his luck a little. "You don't sound too impressed," he said, quirking up an eyebrow. "Didn't we wow you?"

The British girl gave him a cool smirk. "It seems as if you're the one who is wowed," she said, "or perhaps your face is just naturally red?"

"She got you," she heard Adam whisper.

"Shut it," Will replied to his friend.

Victoria allowed a slight laugh. "I believe your friend is right, _William,_ " she said, drawing out his name. Perhaps a little cruel, yes, but Victoria needed some amusement—and what better way than to tease a boy that so obviously found her attractive. She couldn't deny though—she found him a little cute as well, and he was an excellent duelist, so that was a plus.

Will shuddered at how he pronounced his name, and Adam laughed at how very visible it was. The Slifer boy slammed his friend with his elbow for that.

"You know, you and your little gladiators may be strong enough to keep my fairies and I entertained, at least for a bit," she said, batting her eyes at him. He looked like he was weak in the knees— _good_.

"The beasts are not to be taken lightly," said Will, "they are a team and work as such." She saw a fire burning in his grey eyes. "When together, they are indomitable."

"Teamwork, eh? Just how much anime have you been watching?" Victoria mused.

He looked a bit sheepish.

"I'm assuming a bit too much then," she said with a slight smirk. "I would offer to duel now, however it seems as if class will be over soon, and I don't want to keep you two from your date with Crowler…" She turned around and began to walk away. As she left the room, she turned her head and looked back, directly at Will. She kept her smirk on her face. "My fairies and I await your challenge… _Emperor._ "

* * *

()()—()()HIDE()()—()()

Finally at about seven at night Will returned to the dorm, his stomach rumbling loudly.

"What, Crowler didn't give you anything to eat?" Hide had asked when Will demanded some ramen that Hide had smuggled in.

"Not in the mood, Hide," his friend replied curtly. "Crowler had us cleaning _every inch_ of his study. So, _please_ , just give me some ramen." It sounded like saying 'please' pained him.

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry about it," Hide replied, leaning back in the swivel chair at the desk. He leaned back a little bit further and reached into his bag, which was at the foot of his bed; he opened it up and pulled out some cup ramen, then tossed it to his friend.

"Thanks," Will said after a moment. He went about the process of making the ramen and when it was ready, he took a deep breath and shuddered a little. "So good," he said, slurping it down quickly.

Hide stretched and nearly hit Will in the stomach with his long arms. "Don't get too comfy. You know that Princeton guy? The one who calls himself 'Thunder?'"

"Chazz?" asked Will, noodles and broth dripping from his mouth. He tilted his head back and opened it, like a Tyrannosaurus Rex in _Jurassic Park_ , and swallowed the noodles. "What about him?" he wiped his mouth with his arm and gave an appreciative belch. "Thanks again, by the way."

"Yeah, him. He challenged Jaden to a duel and Jaden wants us to come," Hide said. Despite spending only a few waking hours together, Hide had already gotten leaps and bounds more confident among the Reds and Adam.

"What, are we gonna jump him if he beats Jaden? Please tell me we are," said Will; Hide wasn't sure if he was joking or not.

Hide laughed a little. "Probably not," he responded.

"Aw damn!" he heard Will say, probably not joking. He could tell when Will first heard Chazz's voice that he was hardly a fan of the Obelisk Blue.

"Tell you what Will—Jaden loses, you duel him. If you win, then you can jump him."

"Sweet! I'm gonna go tell Jaden to take a dive!"

"NO!"

* * *

()()—()()ADAM()()—()()

Adam was half-asleep at the table in the Ra Yellow cafeteria when he got the message. He had his head down on the table, lamenting his decision to dignify Will's (entirely correct) accusation and get detention. He'd finished the dinner that Bastion had saved for him and was currently sitting next to the other Ra boy, conversing lazily until he heard his ringtone.

" _She seems to have an invisible touch, yeah!_

 _She reaches in and grabs right hold of your heart!_

 _She seems to have an invisible touch,_

 _She reaches in, and slowly tears you apart!_ "

He sat up real quick and pulled his phone out of his pocket, reading the screen through bleary eyes. "'Adam, get your ass to the main building. Duel between Jaden and Thunder-ass,'" he read. "Wonder what that means."

"It means that Jaden Yuki and Chazz Princeton are going to duel, or so it seems," said Bastion. "Who sent you that?"

"Will," said Adam. "Will Reyes. That's right, I forgot you two hadn't met. He's the dude who got kicked out of class with me for playing Pokémon."

"I think you mean for disrupting the class by yelling," Bastion said.

"Details, details," Adam replied, waving his hand. "Either way, let's get going."

"But my homewo—and he's gone."

* * *

The pair reached the main building of the Academy just at nightfall. They surveyed the area from the bushes for teachers; they knew they weren't supposed to be here.

Finally they heard a voice: "CACAW! CACAW! Adam, Adam's friend! Hurry up, fools!" Adam looked and saw Will sitting on top one of the stones with writing on them, one of the many that dotted the Academy's courtyard. "Let's get going."

The two stood up and ran over to Will, who hurried them inside. "I hope we haven't missed too much," Will said. "I don't know if they started already…" he turned to Bastion as soon as they started to hear the sounds of a duel going on. "We haven't met. I'm Will Reyes."

"Bastion Misawa, charmed," Bastion said politely.

"Good to meet you, Misawy," said Will. "Now in here."

He rounded a corner and the pair followed, with Bastion protesting about his name being "Misawa, not Misawy! It's not that hard!"

"Cut it Misawy, duel's going on," Will said when they entered the arena. He looked up into the bleachers and saw Hide and Syrus sitting in one section, then led the other two up to sit with them. Exactly opposite of them, two Blues—one with blue hair and glasses, the other with an angular face and spiky brown hair—sat in the stands, rooting for Chazz.

Down on the dueling field, Chazz Princeton faced off against Jaden Yuki. Chazz was a bit taller than Jaden, perhaps about 5' 8" or so, definitely shorter than Will or Hide, with spiky black hair that went out in all directions. He wore the typical Obelisk Blue jacket and had an arrogant look about his face—probably what made Will dislike him so much.

Jaden was of a shorter sort, about 5' 6" or so, with brown eyes and a Slifer Red uniform, and his hair was in the shape of a 'Kuriboh' (hey, ho!), though he would never admit it. He had a bright grin on his face, and it was clear that he was truly enjoying the duel, despite the odds.

A large humanoid with half-red and half-green skin as well as talons, a dragon tail, wings, and even a dragon's head for an arm floated gracefully on Chazz's side of the field, a glazed look in his eyes, signifying that he doesn't belong to Chazz. ( **Elemental Hero Flame Wingman: WIND, Level 6, Warrior-type. 2100 ATK/1200 DEF** ) On Jaden's side of the field, there was a large human with a clay body; he had big arms and big legs, like massive shields, and a small red head and shoulder pads. ( **Elemental Hero Clayman: EARTH, Level 4, Warrior-type. 800 ATK/2000 DEF** )

Despite the massive odds against him, Jaden had a brilliant grin and a bright look in his eye. He still looked incredibly happy. "Can't do anymore. Your move, Chazz!" Jaden said.

"Hmph, time to put you in your place, slacker!" Chazz said haughtily. "I summon 'Chthonian Soldier' in Attack Mode!"

A tall man, about as tall as Hide, wearing grey armour and wielding a large grey sword appeared. His helm was open in the front to expose a mouth filled with large, sharp teeth, and on the side of the helmet metal was splayed out in a pattern like dragon's wings. ( **Chthonian Soldier: DARK, Level 4, Warrior-type. 1200 ATK/1400 DEF** ) He raised his sword high above his head, and it was plain to everyone in the room that the sword was almost entirely blade, the hilt even having a jagged knife forged into it.

"Now it's time to feel the humiliation of being attacked by your own monster! 'Flame Wingman,' attack his 'Clayman!'" the Obelisk Blue commanded, and the creature complied. The larger 'Elemental Hero' flew forward at high speeds, raking his claws across 'Clayman's' chest, slicing deep through the other monster, causing it to shatter into pixels. After the other monster fell, 'Wingman' stalked over to Jaden on legs almost like a chicken's and held up his dragon-arm, firing a burst of flames into Jaden's face.

 **Jaden: 3200 LP / Chazz: 4000 LP**

"Now, 'Chthonian Soldier,' attack Jaden!" Chazz called. The armoured man charged forward and sliced Jaden with his massive sword

 **Jaden: 2000 LP / Chazz: 4000 LP**

With the same vigour not leaving him, Jaden gave Chazz a bright grin. "You're tough," he said, "looks like I'll have to be tougher!" He drew a card. "I summon 'Elemental Hero Sparkman' in Attack Position!'" he called. A man in golden armour with a blue visor and sharp, solid-looking golden wings appeared, charging a pulse of electric energy in his hands. ( **Elemental Hero Sparkman: LIGHT, Level 4, Warrior-type. 1600 ATK/1400 DEF** ) "'Sparkman,' attack his 'Chthonian Soldier!' Spark blast!"

The golden-armoured man shot a charge of electricity at the man with the huge sword, cutting through its chest like a jagged sword. 'Chthonian Soldier' roared in pain before dropping to one knee and shattering to pieces, but not before his sword went flying out and cutting into Jaden.

 **Jaden: 1600 LP / Chazz: 3600 LP**

Jaden grunted a little when the sword pierced him, but he shook it off quickly. "I'll place a card facedown and call it a turn," he said.

Chazz drew a card with an arrogant laugh, commenting, "You beating Doctor Crowler must have just been a fluke, either that or pure dumb luck!" he snarked. "I'll end it quick! 'Flame Wingman,' attack 'Sparkman!'"

Nobody noticed Adam slipping away at this moment.

The dragon-tailed hero lunged forward again, this time grabbing at 'Sparkman,' but right before he could slash him, Jaden called out, "Not so fast!" His facedown flipped up. "I activate 'Mirror Gate!' Now we switch control of our monsters, but the attack still continues!" The monsters flipped sides once more, and 'Flame Wingman' blasted 'Sparkman' with a fireball, consuming it and burning it to ashes. The red-and-green hero flew through and blasted Chazz.

 **Jaden: 1600 LP / Chazz: 1500 LP**

"Damn," Chazz grimaced; "if that's how you're gonna be, I activate my 'Chthonian Blast!' It destroys your 'Flame Wingman,' and inflicts damage to you equal to half its ATK!" A series of explosions sparked up and went in a line toward 'Wingman,' taking it up in a cloud of flames. A spout of fire burst out and struck Jaden.

 **Jaden: 550 LP / Chazz: 1500 LP**

"Next I'll be activating 'Call of the Haunted' to bring back my 'Chthonian Soldier,'" exclaimed Chazz. His facedown card flipped up and a graveyard appeared, with an ectoplasmic spectre rising up from a tombstone that eventually reformed as the armoured soldier. "However, he won't be staying around for too long," Chazz said, "as I'll be tributing him to summon 'Mefist the Infernal General!'"

In the place of the soldier with the sword, a large monster in flowing dark robes with silver shoulder pads and a pattern of white in the stomach area that looked like teeth appeared, wielding a huge battle axe and mounted atop a fierce horse in silvery armour patterned like bones, with a ram's horns protruding from its head. 'Mefist' swung his axe up high and allowed the horse to rear back before coming back down and stamping its hooves impatiently. ( **Mefist the Infernal General: DARK, Level 5, Fiend-type. 1800 ATK/1700 DEF** )

"Since I can't attack, I'll end it here."

Jaden's confidence seemed to be waning a little when he drew his next card, but quickly he took on the same grin. "Looks like it's over, Chazz! I activate…"

"GUUUUYSSSS!" Adam's voice came booming through the room. He came running in with the blonde-haired Alexis Rhodes, an Obelisk Blue, close behind, both of them looking a little worried.

"Campus security's on their way here," Alexis said. "We've got to get out of here, all of us!"

"When did you get here?" Will wondered aloud.

Hide smacked him on the back of the head. "Not the time, bro." The three Reds and the Yellow in the stands stood up quickly. Syrus started pushing against them quickly, frantic.

The duelists powered down their Duel Disks and the holograms disappeared. Chazz looked up to his cronies and barked something to them, and they took off in one direction. He looked back and told Jaden, "This isn't over." And he ran off with his friends.

Will and Hide clambered down the seats like monkeys whilst Bastion and Syrus pushed and shoved at each other to get to the stairs, and were getting nowhere fast. Finally they broke the stalemate when Syrus inadvertently vaulted over the railing and Bastion slid down the same rail. Red, Yellow and Blue alike took off in fear of campus security, and not Alexis or Will, nor Adam or Hide, nor Jaden, Bastion or Syrus stopped running until all seven were safely out of the building and out of breath.

"T-thanks," Adam said as he walked over to Alexis. He was panting a little, so he put his hand on a stone to steady himself. "But what were you doing here?"

"I heard Chazz mention dueling Jaden after hours," Alexis said. He noticed something in her eyes; there was something she wasn't saying. They looked back up to the building and saw a pair of flashlights walking down a windowed hallway, and noticed Chazz and his boys slinking off at the treeline. "Thought it would be best to come by and watch out for the security… and I was more than a little interested. After Jaden beat Crowler I had to see for myself if he just got lucky."

Adam allowed a slight chuckle. "There are many uses for 'getting lucky,' and what I saw in there was not one of the good ones," he joked. Alexis smiled a little; she had a rather pretty smile.

A few more flashlights passed down the hallways. Alexis frowned. "We'd all better get back to our dorms," she said as the others gathered around them. A collective grunt of agreement went around them. Bastion was the first one gone, not waiting for Adam; obviously he'd been less than thrilled with almost getting caught trespassing on the very first night.

Syrus and Jaden set off next, the former not wanting to go alone. Jaden finally volunteered to take him back to the dorms, being his roommate and all. Will and Hide went after them, both patting their Ra friend on the back and waving goodbye to Alexis. She parted with the words, "Make no mistake—you two are on my list as well." Will grinned to her (at least Adam thought he grinned) and responded, "I'm always ready," before the pair disappeared into the forest.

"And then there were two," Adam said somewhat awkwardly. He wasn't particularly sure why he had waited so long, but the two of them set off together; after all, the Ra dorm wasn't very far from the Obelisk Blue Girls' dorm. "But seriously, thanks for giving me the heads-up so we could go give them the heads-up."

"Don't mention it," Alexis replied. The moon played off her blonde hair and glimmered in her green eyes. ' _So this is what Will sees when he looks at that Victoria girl._ ' He mused in his thoughts. "So where are you from, Adam?" she asked after they had passed a ways in silence.

"Vermont," Adam said. "Home of the world's best maple syrup."

"I thought that was Canada," she said.

"Don't listen to a damn thing William Reyes says," Adam said quickly. "Vermont is the best and he has shitty tastebuds." He composed himself. "What about you?"

Alexis laughed a little. "Well, I'll certainly have to try it sometime," she said. "Suburb outside of Domino City, born and raised. My parents both work for Kaibacorp."

Adam rolled his shoulders. "So… what were you really doing out here?" she looked at him with a mix of surprise and confusion on her face. "My dad is a psychologist and my mom's a lawyer, I know how to read people."

She sighed. "Look. It's something personal, alright?"

Adam nodded. "I got it. Just… if you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask, yeah? We might not know each other that well, but if people from Vermont are good for anything besides syrup, it's helping people."

The wind picked up for a moment and he thought he heard Will's voice yelling, "BULLSHIT, EH!"

Alexis frowned for a moment, but then her expression softened. "…Thanks," she said finally.

"Don't mention it," he said with a small smile. "Here we are. Obelisk Blue Girls' dorm."

They approached the dorm that stood before them, half-moored in the lake. It was large, like a French palace, with many windows and high roofs. Its walls were white and the roof was blue. Twin statues of 'Obelisk the Tormentor' flanked the doorway. "Thanks again, Adam," Alexis said.

"Like I said, don't worry about it," he said, giving her a smile. He turned and shoved his hands in his pockets, walking off toward the Ra Yellow dorm.

* * *

 **Not much going on here. Just a bit of a rewriting of the second episode, with a little duel thrown in between Will and Adam, as well as a brief bit of comedy when Crowler finds the two battling each other on their GBAs. There was a bit of insight into Victoria's personality, showing that she enjoys playing with people; she gets bored easily, so what other way to alleviate that boredom than to mess with people—and Will, being so obviously infatuated with her, is such an excellent target.**

 **It should be obvious that the dialogue between Chazz and Jaden in the duel isn't the same as in the show, but I really don't want to rewrite speaking; I might not change up the actual flow of the duels, but the dialogue I want to at least be my own. We saw a bit of Adam's personality as well, showing that he likes to help people. That's something that's not going to change much.**

 **Lastly I want to say that I'm going to be instating two different theme songs that will appear in alternating chapters. One will be a Japanese song, "Realize" by FLOW. The second will be in English, and it is "Walk" by Foo Fighters. I'll be adding them in next chapter, starting with "Realize" and alternating. But that's really it, not much else to say here. So…**

 **As always, take care, brush yo' hair, I'll see ya when I see ya… ~PEACE~**

 **~Chase**


End file.
